Trust in our bonds
by TheThousandBeanster
Summary: First person retelling of Fire Emblem: Awakening from the beginning to (hopefully) the end.One little quirk:Pairings will be voted for early on. All pairings. Voting is currently open. Important information at the end of chapter 2.
1. Chapter 1

**Obvious and unnecessary disclaimer: This is fan work. That's why it's on this site. Therefore, I don't own Fire Emblem.**

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><p>Dark.<p>

This place is very dark.

Leave it to an evil cult to decorate their buildings so ominously.

I could dwell on the aesthetics of this place further, but I should probably pay more attention to the blue-haired man fighting for his life in front of me. Said man... No. Chrom, my closest ally and irreplaceable friend, is charging at a rather lanky-looking sorcerer, sword poised to strike. Now, he is obviously a skilled man with his blade but the sorcerer, whose name eludes me, is no slouch either. I know, somehow, that he absolutely has to die.

I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it has something to do with his snakeish eyes and grey skin. Nothing says "evil" quite like those.

At any rate, he is handling himself quite well in melee despite being a mage, occasionally even parrying Chrom's blade entirely with his magic. I know I would only get in the way right now, so instead of jumping in I bide my time, lightning crackling between my fingertips as Chrom finally appears to land a blow... and he vanishes before it reaches him?

"UP THERE!"

The voice of my friend snaps me out of my shocked state only to look up to see our foe, levitating there and about to unleash a spell.

Teleportation and levitation? Come on, that's cheat- NAGA THAT'S A LOT OF LIGHTNING!

As I desperately fling myself backwards to avoid the purple lightning explosion of doom I release my own Thoron blast towards him, only to have him cheat again while calling me a fool.

If I didn't hate that guy before, I hate him now.

On the plus side, he seems to have returned to solid ground.

On the minus side, he used the momentary distraction caused by his unorthodox movement to successfully hit Chrom with more magic, albeit on a smaller scale.

What is NOT of a smaller scale is the spell he is currently aiming at Chrom, laughing maniacally.

He releases the spell with a mighty cry of "DIE" as I run to try to get to my friend in time. Seeing as I would not make it, I attempt instead to detonate his magic with my own before it reaches its destination. Specifically, by throwing the weakest and most basic thunder spell at it. The little ball of electricity successfully makes contact with the much larger one, exploding in a bright but ultimately harmless flash.

The sorcerer, unimpressed, stares at me with obvious disgust as I use the lull in action to help Chrom to his feet. It wasn't very hard; He had already almost recovered from the previous attack on his own.

"This is it," he says, "our final battle. You're one of us, Robin, and no "destiny" can change that. Now let's kill this bastard and be done with it!"

Well, nice to hear that I belong, I guess. Whoever "we" are. It's a wee bit fuzzy at the moment.

Regardless, I signify my consent with a nod and spare a moment to observe my surroundings. To my left is what appears to be the back wall of a great hall while to my right is a large, flowing wall of what I must assume to be magic blocking my view of the rest of the presumed hall. Now that we aren't being quite so noisy in here, I can hear the sounds of a fierce battle happening on the other side. I just hope that whatever side is "us" is winning.

In front of me, on the floor is a concentric arrangement of circles, mostly green but some purple and red as well. In the center of those circles is an altar upon which something is glowing with ominous purple flames. Finally, mister tall, dark and creepy is standing in front of the altar, possibly protecting it. That would explain why he didn't attack us yet, because he obviously isn't scared of us.

With that little bit of assessment over and done with, I resume my advance with Chrom towards "the bastard".

Said bastard wastes no time taunting us some more.

"Gya ha ha! Fools! Struggle all you want! You cannot unwrite what is already written!"

Not about to let him take the initiative this time, I start launching Thoron spells at him to cover Chrom, who darts to the right so as to engage him from an angle that lets him slash while still allowing me to shoot at the same time.

Our foe quickly counters my magical barrage with one of his own, engaging me in a battle of wills that, while costly for me, allows Chrom all the time he needs to reposition himself for the strike.

It appears the sorcerer's multitasking skills need work, for he cannot not defend against the two of us together and fails to completely stop Chrom's strike, which tears a large gash across his chest. Obviously stunned by the pain, the tall man becomes an easy target for me to finish with one last spear-shaped thunderbolt.

Mortally injured, he falls to the ground, coated in purple ash. Chrom turns to me, his face filled with joy from our victory-

"This isn't over..."

Oh what now?

"Damn you BOTH!"

Our foe rises at an absolutely terrifying speed and unleashes one final attack that Chrom is facing away from, his reflexes dulled by his earlier relief. I shove him out of the way, thoughtlessly taking the blast myself and flying a good distance backwards as a direct result.

Gazing up, I see Chrom rushing to help me up, asking me if I was all right. I hurt like hell, but I don't think it's anything permanent so I respond with a nod.

"That's the end of him." He tells me.

I catch a glimpse of the sorcerer's corpse vanishing as Chrom continues to talk.

"Thanks to you we carried the day. We can rest easy now."

At that moment, I feel a migraine coming on, filling my sight red while I lose feeling in my extremities.

"At long last..."

Discomfort... Intensifying... It must show on my face, too, because Chrom notices.

"... What's wrong?"

I can't answer. It's like my body's moving on its own.

"Hey, hang on-"

A meaty sound interrupts him and his face takes an expression of pain and surprise. He stumbles backwards, allowing me to see the large, crackling spear of lightning embedded into his midsection. Stunned, I look at my right hand only to see static coursing between my fingers. It's painfully obvious what happened.

Still, Chrom takes an expression of understanding as he shares his last words.

"This is not your... Your fault... Promise me... You'll escape from this place... Please...Go."

With that, my best friend falls dead to the floor as a voice starts to laugh in my head.

As I start to lose sight, I can't help but to feel my own voice joining in unbidden...

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><p><strong>AN: Well, here it is, my first fic. Please read and review, constructive criticism welcome, all that jazz. <strong>

**More importantly, this story will have some reader input early on, mostly on the matter of pairings. Yes, you read that right, all pairings will be up to vote, with detailed instructions in the next chapter. But before that, something important must be determined; **

**Is this story's Robin male or female?**

**You can vote through reviews or PMs, both count.**

**I will call the vote a week from now at the latest, Saturday at the earliest, depending on the number of votes.**

**See you next time! **

**SATURDAY EDIT: Wow. I did not expect that kind of turnout so early. Thanks to everyone who voted, but I'm calling it now.**

**Robin will be female.**

**I wish I could say "writing next part now" but college has other plans, so I'll see you guys whenever I'm done.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: God, it's been a while! This took far longer than anticipated due to a mix of homework and my own lazyness.**

**IMPORTANT: READ THE OTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF CHAPTER.**

**RoseWarden: Are you some sort of alternate-universe me? Everything you said pretty much encapsulates what I told myself when I started writing. Even the vote part sounds exactly like what I'd have told myself.**

**HellfireSupremacy: I can't make promises regarding the glossing of overused parts as I think a good story should be able to stand by itself outside of the context of this site. Still, I'll see if I can't trim SOME fat. On adhering to in-game events: I love the crap out of Awakening's writing so chances are that what parts I use will be mostly unchanged, dialog-wise. I agree entirely on the support part.**

**Thanks, you two, for giving me actual advice.**

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><p><em>It is quiet.<em>

My senses are an abyss of nothingness.

"Chrom, we have to do **something**."

_It WAS quiet._

_Also, do something about what exactly? You will have to elaborate, young lady._

Another voice, belonging to a man this time, answers her as I try to process the current situation and, more importantly, awaken fully.

"What do you propose we do?"

By now I have at least some awareness and I realize that the two speakers are standing very close to me.

"I...I dunno!"

It occurs to me that opening my eyes would probably help me substantially. As I do so, I finally put a face on each voice. The girl seems about as young as her voice suggested, around sixteen at most, with blonde pigtails and a rather impractical-looking skirt. Her male companion was quite tall, his toned right arm bare for the world to see, a strange symbol on his shoulder. His hair is also a rare shade of blue.

_I've seen this man before..._

They quickly notice me stirring and address me directly.

"I see you're awake now." says blue guy, a sympathetic smile on his lips.

"Hey there..." says blonde girl like I was a frightened cat. Slightly demeaning, but I don't think she meant anything by it.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know." follows blu-**Chrom**.

_Huh. I didn't even notice I was lying down. That would certainly explain why you two seem so freakishly tall._

"Here, take my hand."

As I accept his offer, I notice a rather ominous purple mark on the back of my right hand. Thankfully, Chrom doesn't seem to see it, his gaze fixed on my face. From this close, I also can't help but notice how his eyes are the same striking shade of blue as his hair.

"You all right?" he asks, still somewhat concerned.

I respond without thinking.

"Yes.. Thank you, Chrom."

"Ah, then you know who I am?" he asks, seeming slightly curious.

"Of course I..."

_Hold on...__**Who **__is he exactly again?_

I draw a complete blank, only his name a certainty.

"Actually... No. It's strange... your name just kind of... came to me..."

_And now I must sound like a lunatic. Perfect..._

"How curious" he muses, only a little puzzled. At least he was still listening. "Tell me, what's your name? What brings you here?"

_My name? I can probably answer that!_

"My name is..."

_Aaany second now..._

"It's..."

_Oh gods this can't be good._

_No name. Nothing._

"...You don't know your own name?" Chrom catches on, which is only slightly less embarrassing than having to spell it out myself.

Meanwhile, my own incomprehension increases. I simply cannot seem to recall anything at all.

The back of my mind is nothing but emptiness and thinking about it for too long hurts.

I speak up, trying to keep at least a semblance of wit, "I'm sorry, but could you tell me where I am?"

"Hey, I've heard of this!" the younger girl chimes in, "It's called amnesia!"

_Somehow, I don't think this answers my question._

"It's called a load of pegasus dung."

_That also does not sound like where we are._

The man who just interjected was slightly taller than Chrom and stood straight as a pole, wearing his heavy-looking armor with an ease that could only have come from experience. He would doubtlessly be a formidable opponent.

With that in mind, I resolve not to aggravate him if I can help it.

Also, the fact I failed to notice such an imposing man until now tells me that I am seriously off my game.

As if I have a concept of how good my "game" usually is.

"We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?" he asks sarcastically.

I respond with the most thoughtful and logical argument at my disposal.

"But it's the truth!"

_...Yeah. I got nothing._

_Nothing verifiable from their end, at least._

Luckily for me, Chrom at least entertains the possibility of me actually telling the truth.

"...What if it IS true, Frederick? We can't just leave her here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?"

_He seems to be the inherently helpful kind of guy. Quick! Look as pathetic as possible! _

_... Actually, I don't think I need to fake it; I __**am **__rather pathetic at the moment._

_That's a little depressing._

Frederick responds stoically, "Just the same, milord, I must emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

_Some wolf I could be..._

Chrom thinks for a moment and quickly comes to the same conclusion as I.

"Right then - we'll take her back to town and sort this out there."

_And how exactly are you going to do that?_

I protest a bit, more out of indignation at being left out of the decision than anything else, but Chrom reassures me that I will be heard back in town.

Then, without another word, he turns around and starts walking in what I assume is the direction of the town, immediately followed by his female companion. At Frederick's pointed stare, I follow suit, leaving the knight to watch my back. Or, more likely, to watch me.

As I walk in silence, I take a good, long look at my situation. I have absolutely no idea who I am and what I was doing there. The amnesia theory seems likely, but that does not explain how I knew Chrom's name. Bottom line: my story, while true, reeks of "pegasus dung", as Frederick kindly pointed out. Chrom seems confident that we'll figure this out peacefully, but I doubt I will be able to offer a valid counterargument to the obvious flaws in my explanations.

In light of this, it may be wiser to make a run for it. Chrom and the girl aren't watching and Frederick wears armor. Moreover, he is also pulling the reins of a warhorse converted to a packhorse, which conveniently makes mounting it in a timely manner impossible. If I could just get to the trees...

Then what? I have no idea how to reach civilization, or how to avoid committing social faux-pas, or even how much money I have for survival. Besides, there is no guarantee I will even be able to make it and if I fail, I can kiss any chance I had of being heard goodbye.

_So what now... Mollify them with feminine wiles?_

... No, that's a ridiculous idea. I have no clue how I would even begin to attempt this and Frederick is probably immune.

I slowly begin patting my cloak in an attempt to figure out exactly what I have on hand. I find some money, not that I know how much I can buy with it. In another pocket are some black gloves that I quickly put on. I don't know if I should be worried about the mark I saw on the back of my hand, but better safe than sorry. For all I know, it could belong to some sort of bandit group or guild of assassins or doomsday cult. That would validate Frederick's suspicions in a jiffy.

Continuing my self-check, I notice something rather important; I am armed! I don't dare look at it for fear the blue-armored knight would notice, but I have a sword under my cloak. I could give it up as a show of goodwill, but I'd really rather have some sort of trump card right now.

Although... Using it against my "captors" would leave a horrible taste in my mouth. Chrom has been nothing but polite so far, the little lady seems rather pleasant and even Frederick is only justifiably suspicious. Plus, the success chances of such a plan are still iffy, as I could certainly not take all three of them in a fair fight and the knight's vigilance prevents a sneak attack.

_Gods damn it, Frederick, why must you be so competent?_

I feel the outline of a book strapped at my other hip, not that it would help anything.

All in all, my only viable option is to convince them that I am not a threat, which will be a bit easier if I know them better. I should try talking with them for a while.

Now, what would be a good, natural conversation opener..?

How about an inquiry about my impending doom? Can't go wrong with that.

"What will you do with me? Am I to be your prisoner?"

Chrom slows down a bit at my intervention, allowing me to catch up before responding with a small smile and a derisive scoff.

"You'll be free to go once we establish you're no enemy of Ylisse."

I hear an interesting unknown word in there!

"So," I quip, "I take it this country is actually called Ylisse, then. Not Amnesia."

The girl snorts at that.

"It does almost sound like a country."

Since I managed to amuse them, I go for broke.

"Just once, I'd like to see someplace actually called A-Load-Of-Pegasus-Dung. Preferably in the boonies."

The girl (whose name I should really ask) starts giggling like mad as Chrom lets out a chuckle. I think I even see Frederick's lips twitch upwards. A little.

"Someone pay this actress, she plays quite the fool!" he says.

_Why thank you. I try._

"Referring, of course, to her alleged lack of knowledge of the Halidom."

_I retract that last statement. Gods damn you, Frederick!_

"Frederick, please." Chrom intervenes, irritated.

I guess as long as Chrom believes my amnesia is genuine, it doesn't really matter what Frederick thinks. I may be okay after all!

"This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse." Chrom explains. "Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt. I suppose proper introductions are in order..."

_We never __**did **__get truly introduced, did we? I got too swept up in the whole not-remembering-my-own-name thing to notice._

"My name is Chrom - but then, you already knew that."

_No titles or anything? Your protector marks you someone important. I guess even you don't __**completely**__ trust me. You would have to be very naïve to._

"The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

"I am NOT delicate!" Lissa objects, turning her head away from her brother with an exaggerated huff.

"Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes."

_I don't know, your arms look pretty skinny to me._

"But you're lucky that the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

_I agree on the brigand thing. But this is the second time now that you call yourselves that. I call bullshit._

"Shepherds? You tend sheep?" I cast a dubitative stare at Frederick, who returns it as if to say that he is the only one allowed to do that. "...In full armor?"

"Heh, it's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here." Chrom deflects the question.

The Wary retorts "A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution." He looks at me directly and even though his frown remains, his voice softens a little."I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."

_I can understand that. My claims __**are**__ rather wonky._

"I understand, sir. I would do no less myself."

_In fact, am I not doing the exact same thing? I can't be certain whether or not Chrom and you are treating me to an elaborate Good Watchman-Bad Watchman routine, so I try to subtly coax information out of you to figure out who you are and what you're afraid I could be. Meanwhile, you leave me as ignorant as you can to facilitate problematic tongue slips, things I should not know but somehow do. I can't really know if Chrom is in on it, but I know that Frederick and I are playing an elaborate game of words to figure out who the other is. Problem is, I don't know who I am._

_Still, this man deserves respect._

I speak without thinking.

"My name is Robin."

_Is it? It feels right. I guess I just needed to stop thinking about it._

"...I just remembered that. How odd. I guess that's one mystery solved."

"Robin?" Chrom asks, apparently accepting my explanation. "Is that foreign?"

I give him a flat stare.

_Amnesia, remember?_

"...Ah, well. We can discuss it later. We're almost to town. Once we-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a screech coming from Lissa, who traveled ahead a bit.

"Chrom, look! The town!"

We all rush to the small hilltop she is standing on only to see smoke coming from several of the town's buildings, to Chrom's anger.

"Damn it! The town's ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt..."

_Do these kinds of things happen often around here?_

"Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!" Chrom signals his companions, with the obvious intent to go help the town.

Frederick points to me "What about her?"

To which Chrom responds quickly "Unless she's on fire as well, it can wait!"

_...Rude._

"Aptly put, milord."

_Still rude._

Obviously fed up with their back-and-forth, Lissa urges them angrily "Let's go already!"

All three of them start running towards the village, leaving me in their dust.

It seems I have been well and truly shoved aside in their minds in favor of a more urgent problem, not that I can blame them. This opens a number of possibilities. Chief among them, escape has become incredibly easy, for I could simply pick any direction and start walking. Knowing the position of the town, I would wait until the current crisis dies down and Chrom's company have left to show up, maybe aid in the reconstruction and go from there. It is a sound plan.

On the other hand, they're risking their lives out there. I may not be certain where we all stand in this but I certainly don't wish them harm. I also still have that sword.

_Right, first things first, I should make sure that I will be a danger to the right people._

I draw the blade, looking at it for the first time. Nothing glamorous, really. Just an old bronze thing that is still pretty sharp.

I take a few practice swings, noting that a basic form came naturally and that my balance was adequate.

_Good enough, I guess. Now, time to make some friends._

I tear off in the same direction that I saw Chrom running to.

_Now, if I wanted to stop a bandit attack, what would I do? ...Get rid of the leader. Where could he be? ...Somewhere central, probably the town square. How do I get there?_

Running through the streets, I spot the lifeless corpse of a bare-chested man propped against the wall of a building, a discarded axe by his side and a pool of blood at his feet.

_Well, I guess this is the right way._

Before long, I hear the sounds of a large commotion ahead, and a voice quickly stands out within them.

"-won't be bothering anyone ever again..."

I emerge from an alleyway to see my three acquaintances ready to fight. Frederick somehow found time to unload his horse and is now riding it, a beautiful silver lance in hand. Lissa is standing back, clutching a staff with both hands. Most of my attention, however, is directed at Chrom, or rather, his unsheathed sword. I don't recognize it and the hilt is stylized to look like the mark on his shoulder.

_A custom-made sword... Yup, definitely a VIP._

I call out to them. "Wait!"

Chrom turns around, surprised.

"Robin! You followed us! Why?"

"I.. I'm not certain myself." I respond "But I'm armed," I lift my sword as I'm saying this "and I know my way around a fight, if you'll have me." At least, I **think** I can fight.

Luckily, Chrom doesn't argue. "Of course-strength in numbers. Just stay close!"

_How sweet, he wants to keep me safe. Don't worry, I'll stick to you like glue._

I take position next to him and he looks me over, assessing my possible combat use.

"So, Robin, I see you wear a sword. Is it- Wait, is that a tome? ...You know magic?"

_Tome? Magic? Oh, the book! Now that I look at it, I see what he means. Not so useless after all!_

"I... believe so? I suppose I should check."

"You believe so?"

His face takes an apprehensive look.

"Perhaps I'll just keep a few paces behind you for the time being..."

"No, I can control it, I'm sure." I quickly reassure him. After all, I don't exactly fancy myself a lone point woman. I need him right there by me or in front of me.

I take a quick look around, noticing a few market stalls ahead, keeping the battlefield kind of cramped, and a bunch of alleys going elsewhere in town. A plan of sorts forms in my head.

"Frederick, you're fast and well-armored, so could you patrol the perimeter of the square? Quite a lot of bandits are probably still in town somewhere and could show up to reinforce."

He seems slightly skeptical but looks to Chrom , who nods, obviously agreeing with my reasoning. Frederick sighs and nods as well, accepting his role.

"Very well, Robin. None shall pass."

Somehow, I believe it.

With that, he's off, the sound of his horse's hooves fading in the distance.

Now, interested though I may be to try out my fancy magic thing, it's easier to respond to a surprise close-range attack with a sword so I'll stick with it for the time being.

Chrom and I run in the market, careful to make sure that no one could come from the side and get to Lissa, who is following a few paces back, just far enough to be safe and still close enough for emergencies.

Turning a corner, we spot a swordsman who quickly realizes he is outnumbered and backpedals a bit, a panicked look on his face. Chrom catches up with a smooth lunge and forces him to defend with all his meagre skill and allowing me to surge from the right to slash across his side, drawing blood and making him recoil in pain. Chrom follows up immediately with a stab straight through his heart.

_If we can keep fighting them like this, this'll be a bree-_

"LOOK OUT!"

A hand on my chest pushes me back roughly as an axe misses me by a couple of inches. It looks like another brigand tried to ambush us while we were distracted. All it earned him was a split head, courtesy of Chrom.

"You all right?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm-"

_Guy with a huge hat, rounding the corner behind Chrom!_

Without thinking, I shove him aside, taking the green blades of air that the man launched at him myself. Thankfully, wind magic is not exactly the most powerful kind and I get off with only a few shallow gashes on my left shoulder. I close the distance to pay the mage back by slicing at his neck, killing him.

Chrom runs up to me, looking surprised but grateful.

"That was dangerous. Thanks."

"No problem." I respond. "It's what friends do, right?" I add tentatively.

Lissa trots up to us and chimes in.

"Yup! And another thing friends do is this!"

Her staff lights up at this and a warm feeling envelops me. When it leaves, I notice that my wounds are gone.

"Thanks."

"No problem! Just make sure not to get much worse than this, all right?"

"I'll try."

We finally get past the food stands and in view of a bridge leading to a church, in front of which a large man carrying multiple throwing axes paces, flanked by a swordsman.

"That must be the leader." Chrom says. "Bandits usually determine their leaders through strength."

"Think you can take him for a while? I'll get rid of his flunky and join you." I sheath my sword at this and pull out the tome, a devious smirk on my lips.

"You are going to try to use magic, aren't you?" Chrom asks, slightly nervous.

"Relax. I've got this."

_Famous last words, I know._

Regardless, he seems to trust me enough for he looks forward resolutely and starts running towards the men. I follow swiftly, chanting an incantation under my breath.

The bandits notice us and while the swordsman rushes towards us his leader decides to let us come to him, readying an axe.

_Unit cohesion seems kind of lacking among those men. Whatever, this will only make my job easier._

As the first man nears striking distance from Chrom I release my spell, sending a ball of lightning towards him and striking him dead center. As he recoiled from pain and muscle spasms Chrom darted around him, making a beeline for the leader and thus denying him time for a throw.

The swordsman recovers partially and attempts an overhead slash at me, which I dodge easily thanks to his lingering clumsiness. I take advantage of his lack of balance to ram my electrified hand on his chest, causing his heart to stop.

I turn to face the leader and see that Chrom already did a number on him, with several gashes on his arms and chest. Chrom didn't exactly come out of it unscathed, either, as his leg is bleeding quite a lot. In the end it doesn't matter, because this is pretty much over.

"Checkmate!" I yell triumphantly as another ball of Thunder finds its mark, sending the burly bandit boss to the ground, dead.

Suddenly, the plaza falls almost silent, the only noise being the still burning buildings. I survey our surroundings, making sure that no bandit remained in our vicinity. Sure enough, there are none. Timidly, some villager's heads poke out of various intact houses to see if everything was over. Seeing that it was safe, some come out of hiding while others dive back inside to recover buckets then make a dash for the closest rivers, bucket-lines already forming to extinguish the flames. I'd like to help, but I'm beat after the long walk followed by combat. Besides, it looks like they have everything in hand for now. _Hurray for small, close-knit communities, I guess._ I turn to Chrom to see him getting patched up by his sister.

"Well, that's the end of that." I state the obvious.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Frederick trotting towards us, lance bloodied. He evidently saw some action on his end but looked no worse for wear. It looks like I made the right call.

Lissa, having finished her job, speaks up with her usual energy. "Lucky for the town, we were close by. but holy wow, Robin! You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, AND tactics! Is there anything you can't do?"

I shrug. "Calling what I did back there tactics is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? I just had a couple of good ideas. Anyone could have done that much."

Chrom cuts in. "No. It's not that simple. Certainly, I could have figured it out myself from the comfort of a war room, but with combat imminent I didn't think of the possibility of reinforcements at all. That required a cool and swift mind. You are definitely a lot more capable than I first thought."

_Well, I'd say I have his respect, at least. Mission accomplished! _

Naturally, Frederick picks this moment to butt in. "Indeed. Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?"

_Always too early to celebrate with him around, huh? He's not easily distracted. Well, time for a polite, honest answer. After all, I have nothing to hide. Or anything at all, really. _"I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick. And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me. But please, believe me, I have shared all that I know." At this, I make my puppy dog eyes. _Pleeease believe me, I'm just trying to put my life on track..._

Chrom intervenes on my behalf again "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough."

_Good to know you've always got my back. I think I'll need it._

"And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?"

_Frederick! Let him be naïve just this once!_

"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician?"

_So I'm valuable on top of trustworthy. Definitely something I can get behind._

"Besides, I believe her story, odd as it might be."

That is actually kind of surprising. I get that he thinks I mean well and that he trusts me not to stab him in the back, but to actually believe what I said?(_How the hell __**did **__I know his name?_) I'm honestly amazed, grateful and a little scared for him in the future. I thank him, not really knowing what else to say. He accepts it and goes straight to the heart of the matter.

"So how about it? Will you join us, Robin?"

_Let's see... do I want to give my life some direction, guided by people as nice as you? There really isn't much choice when you think about it._

"I would be honored."

After a grateful nod my way, my three new companions head towards the villagers to help with the remaining flames as I stay behind to mull a bit. Surprisingly, Frederick doesn't look too bothered by the fact I'll be tagging along. Maybe there is hope after all.

I go to the river to freshen up a bit, as I got quite sweaty fighting the brigands. As I peer into the water, I take a good first look at myself and immediately give Frederick a point; I do look rather suspicious with that giant hood on. It even obscures my eyes if I bow my head a little! I take it off to get a better look at my face. For the most part, I'd say I'm... pretty. Not beautiful or gorgeous but kind of pretty. One particular point of note is the stark white hair framing my face, looking almost immaterial. Another is my eyes, which are so dark I almost can't make out where the pupils are.

As I wash my face, I give some thought to Chrom. Nice or not, he really shouldn't trust people so easily. Sure, I fought with him, but if he is as important to this country as his guard makes him out to be then that could simply have been a calculated risk to gain his trust. A bold move for a spy, to be sure, but it would have worked. The main point is that as far as he knows, I could still wish him harm.

_Well, no point worrying about it now, I guess. I'll just have to deal with my new boss's trusting nature when and if it ever becomes a problem for his continued health. Surely Frederick and I can keep him out of trouble. If only I could get Sir Wary to trust me..._

Done with my cleaning, I head towards where my friends are conversing. By now I'm pretty sure that the moniker of "Shepherds" is actually the name of their little band, so I should start referring to them as such. I arrive just in time to catch the tail end of Frederick's sentence.

"-spoke with a Plegian accent."

_Unknown word detected. Must inquire._

"Plegian?"

Chrom catches on, remembering my memory problems this time.

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor. They send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."

"And if anyone asks, they pretend it's just bandits, right?" I say, trying to find the logic behind what I've just been told.

"Exactly." Chrom spits out the word with more venom then I've seen from him so far.

"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer!" Lissa adds, outraged. "Totally innocent, and totally helpless..."

Frederick gently puts a hand on her shoulder and speaks in a surprisingly calming manner. "They do have us, milady: Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgement."

_Wise advice. Heads work better when cool._

Lissa reluctantly agrees. "I know, I know..." She forces a small smile. "I'll get used to all this."

At that moment, a villager comes racing towards us to invite us to a celebratory feast. However, and to Lissa's dismay, Frederick insists that we press on to the capital. It's not that far, according to Chrom, but not so close that we can make it before dusk. I also learn that a smiling Frederick is bad news.

As we head to my first camping trip, I muse that plan "get a life" is proceeding brilliantly so far.

_And now I'm just asking for something to go wrong._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Guys, I really appreciate how many of you voted but... The actual pairing vote wasn't open yet.**

**Does it matter? Yes it does, because if a different Robin then the one you voted for won, the pairings would obviously change.**

**I was also planning for it to be a PM-only vote to maintain spoilers to a minimum, but screw that.**

**Finally, for the ACTUALLY IMPORTANT PART: I noticed that almost everyone who voted went for Chrom!Robin. It's a good pairing that makes a lot of sense. I get that. However, it's also overused as hell. Seriously, look anywhere. Female Robin? ALWAYS WITH CHROM. **

**I like the pairing, I really do, but that omnipresence creates two big sitewide lackings. One, nowhere near enough FRobin!Anyone else. Two, no platonic interactions with Chrom, which is a lot of untapped potential.**

**This is the real reason you shouldn't have voted yet, because now what I'm about to do will hurt. As author of this story, I declare that all votes of Chrom!Robin will be vetoed to add some site diversity. Besides, it would have made voting boring and predictable. ALL OTHER PAIRINGS SUPPORTED BY THE GAME ARE FAIR.**

**I will ask that those who have already voted vote again, particularly the Chrom!Robin ones. At the very least, state that you stand by your previous vote so that I'll count it.**

**This vote will last until I'm done with in-game chapter five, so you have plenty of time.**

**Last little note: You can also vote for future children pairings, you know...**


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